Swedish Climate Activist Will Use Prize Money from Norway to Sue Norway

Photo: Anders Hellberg | In August 2018, outside the Swedish parliament building, Greta Thunberg started a school strike for the climate.

Famous Swedish schoolgirl climate activist Greta Thunberg will donate the money awarded by Norwegian Fritt Ord to Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom to halt oil production in the Arctic by Norwegian government.

Thunberg and Natur og Ungdom (Norwegian youth led environmentalist NGO) have mobilized thousands of young people about climate change. On Friday they were honored with Fritt Ord Prize 2019.

Norwegian Fritt Ord points out that they deserved the prize by pointing out that the environmental activists encounter harassment on social media and online debates in addition to opposition from both politicians and businesses.

The price is NOK 500,000. The awards ceremony will take place in Oslo on May 8th.

Thunberg says that such a price means a lot.

-I have received the award together with Natur og Ungdom. They are absolutely fantastic and work on very important issues. They have also helped to organize schools in Norway, so I am very proud that I share the prize with them, ”says Greta Thunberg to NRK.

Greta Thunberg has attracted attention of the world with her speech at UN Climate Change COP24 Conference.

Supports the oil-free Arctic lawsuit against Norwegian state

Greta Thunberg wrote on Twitter Friday night that she is honored to receive the prize.

She notes that she will donate half of the prize to the financing of the ongoing lawsuit against Norway to stop oil production in the Arctic.

Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom lost their first round of lawsuit against the Norwegian state, where they believe the search for oil in the Barents Sea is contrary to the Constitution’s environmental paragraph.

Natur og Ungdom is the largest environmental organization for young people in Norway, with 7,500 members. In March, the organization coordinated the school strikes in Norway, where 40,000 students participated. Fritt Ord points out that organization has played an important role in a number of the major environmental issues in Norway, such as the fight against industrial waste, power plants, air traffic and oil exploration at Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja.